Every Primary (Grade) Three student in Singapore is given a chance to sit for a screening test to test for giftedness in English, Mathematics, and General Ability (traditional IQ questions). Up to 10% students get through the first round, and then only the top 1% to 1.5% make it to the Gifted Education Programme (GEP). Apart from developing the students’ intellectual capacity and higher level thinking, it aims to provide future leaders for the small country.
There are parents who simply want their children to get into the gifted stream, so they fork out money to send their children for training, so that the children could get into GEP. Unfortunately, their children may feel very stressed when they realise they are unable to cope with the rigours of the curriculum. Since being gifted usually means being in the top 2%, there will be some children who will not be selected. Perhaps they are asynchronous in different areas – some might be extremely strong in mathematics and science, the latter being not tested, but do not read sufficiently to have an extremely large vocabulary to qualify for the programme. Others might have topped their cohorts consistently, but they are just extremely bright, not gifted. Nevertheless, since the GEP students are selected for their English, Mathematics and General Ability, almost all should be able to cope with the curriculum.
El managed to get into the programme, along with two other classmates. The gifted programme curriculum is definitely more challenging and interesting than the mainstream curriculum. The students get to learn about ancient civilisations, such as the Mayan number system in Mathematics. They write short stories, fractured fairy tales (the teacher was pleasantly surprised that he wrote a poem in Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes style) and book reviews. The poems offered are quite interesting too. They do literature, which is usually reserved for secondary school (grades 7 – 10) students and the book is A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park. They also could find articles on any interesting ideas that are not taught in the curriculum, things such as the hottest place on earth, the coldest matter invented, and orchids are tricksters.
It is definitely tough for both parents and students to make the transition from mainstream education to the gifted programme. El’s number one challenge he faces is the sheer amount of homework. Even in the third school term right now, there are still a lot of things to be concerned about. Here are some things that could help with being better prepared for GEP.
Tip 1: Connect with other parents
I managed to find on a local forum other parents whose children were going to the same school, so we formed a group and met up prior to reporting to the school. We wanted to let the children know a few other friends first before going to school.
The school also helped each class to start a parents’ WhatsApp group, and since I already had a few numbers, I was one of the class reps. One of the form teachers knew my job, and she expressed surprise that I was ‘free’ to manage the group. It did not take too much time actually, since most people just knew what to do, such as collating phone numbers and names of parents and children. The two groups I was in allowed me to quickly know the school culture, and we provided information on all sorts of things, such as when and where to get the books and supplies, when to request for school bus services and also academic matters. Issues cropped up along the way, and parents surfaced them, hoping to find answers.
Tip 2: Connect with teachers and other educators
The teachers formed Class Dojo groups, and the teachers posted updates and pictures regularly especially in the beginning. Parents could easily message them and seek clarification. There were a few school events, so we could meet up with the teachers to have informal and formal chats. There were also a few meetings with the school principal and department heads about the programme. There was also a talk by a parent (who is an educator too) whose child graduated from the programme. She said that it was fine if we could not answer the questions in our children’s homework since they are the ones who are gifted, not us.
Tip 3: Manage homework well
Homework used to be a short piece of assignment. Now, there are major projects, reports and assignments. Help your child to learn to cope with deadlines. There are many occasions when El has to do his work late into the night. Many of the assignments require the use of the computer and printer. This means running to the nearby shopping mall to pick up ink cartridges because the printer ran out of ink. There were also multiple drafts required for them to improve their work. El used to be resistant to doing new drafts. I had to coax him and tell him what to do with the teachers’ detailed comments. There were a few occasions when his name was highlighted for non-submission on his teachers’ blogs, so I had to ensure he was completing and submitting his work. There were days when I had to sit near him, just to check that he was doing his assignments, and not secretly going to other webpages, such as checking out Harry Potter trivia (his latest interest), or working on a Scratch project (which is part of his programme). He has to learn Chinese spelling as well on a regular basis, and there are long paragraphs to memorise. That takes time too.
Tip 4: Organise things well
There is so much filing to be done since they do not use textbooks. They were told to get an accordion file and label various subjects with In and Out compartments. Their files are constantly checked and rechecked. Worksheets are numbered. This is a good idea as it ensures the students complete their assignments.
We actually bought two cupboards and placed them in the living room. El had one and Gar (who just started primary school) had another. Each subject had its own shelf, and their bags were at the bottom shelves. We could leave the house easily in the morning. They would pack their bags the night before, but there were days when they forgot to pack the reading material in the right language, and had to rush to find one.
Tip 5: Manage time properly
With so many assignments that span days, weeks or months, they need to be at the top of their game. Work no longer takes just minutes. They take hours. Parents have to help the child plan a timetable, so that they will not miss deadlines. El is tired from the many enrichment courses organised by his school (computing, debate, competitions, fieldtrips and performances) and after-school club activities. He had trouble coping with work and had no time for other pursuits such piano. It is only recently after he managed to clear his backlog of homework that he could get back to practising piano. Initially, he was upset at having no time at all, but I think he is getting used to the rigour. He has to cope with the Chinese spelling too. He wanted to quit everything and not do anything, but he would just end up playing games on iPad instead of using it meaningfully. We managed to talk it out.
Time is needed for the students to read! They have over 50 books on a booklist. I went to the National Library Board to search for books on the list. Since I love reading and I can speed read, I read some books together with him, so that I could discuss the stories with him. Some of the more interesting books include Frindle by Andrew Clements and Clockwork by Philip Pullman. El likes reading, so he managed to read quite number on the list. It is fine to stop reading if he dislikes the books, and there are some books that he is not so keen on.
Tip 6: Manage stress
The stress gets to both the children and the parents. It was really tough for the children as many of them cruised through the lower primary levels, scoring fantastic grades without putting in much effort. Suddenly, they have to actually use their brains. It is tough for children. There are people who think GEP kills interest and creativity in children, but I think El actually got to express his creativity more. He came up with a 3D book review and a snakes and ladders game based on a Chinese book he had to read. There was a lot of tension in the beginning. Parents should not do their children’s homework or projects, but just guide them closely. There were times when I felt it would be faster if I just took over, but I made him learn how to do it, such as learning how to make the background of a picture disappear using PowerPoint. It is futile getting so stressed over their children’s work if the child is not ready. Helicopter parenting is not encouraged as mollycoddling will not help them to grow, but free range parenting is not suitable especially in the transition period. I am glad to see him doing his work almost totally on his own especially in this term. He has come a long way.
Tip 7: Work on the weaknesses
El is weak in Chinese. According to another parent, the best compositions written by the students were of 3 – 4 grades higher. When we met the teachers, they said that his Chinese results were mediocre compared to his classmates. My mother is guiding him almost daily, but because we do not watch Chinese shows, there is little input. Television is actually good. We pick up important language skills. However, we do not watch television programmes anymore. The children like to watch YouTube videos on Minecraft and Roblox, so they really have very little exposure to Mandarin. I hope he could only do better. He actually searched for the book online, and copied it into google translator!
Since there are next to zero assessment books available for GEP, it is hard to do more practices. When the teacher gave past-year exam papers to them to practise, he did very badly initially. They have to score a minimum of 70% in order to pass. I scanned the papers, covered up the answers, and printed out the worksheets for him to do the questions again. Time management for Mathematics is very important, as some of his classmates could not finish and did badly. I found some relevant questions and let him practise a few days before the examinations. For students who are not used to getting poor marks, this is a scary wakeup call. Some might be demotivated, so parents must make sure they are emotionally stable. Especially with the rise in suicide rates in children aged 10-19 according to recent statistics released in Singapore, it is important to teach our children to have emotional strength, grit and perseverance.
Overall, I think El has benefitted greatly from the programme. He is definitely being challenged in many areas and he enjoys the lessons greatly. He is getting accustomed to the rigour. His school emphasises character building, and I hope he will grow up to be a gentleman.
This post is part of a blog hop by Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page in August 2019 about Transitions. Check out other blogs too.
